Chair with self-folding seat



April 5, 1955 A. c. HOVEN ETAL CHAIR WITH SELF-FOLDING SEAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1952 Alfred C'lfl ye i" Wilylierl. jvbt'd'marli J mam;

at'io rue April 5, 1955 A. c. HOVEN ETAL. 2,705,526

CHAIR WITH SELF-FOLDING SEAT Filed Jan. 23, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Alfred (.Hoflen "U" mz omg April 5, 1955 c. HQVEN ETAL CHAIR WITH SELF-FOLDING SEAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 23, 1952 INVENTORS Alfred 6-HOIJBI1 J' 173111191!- E.]Vbrclmarli ATTORNEY United States Patent CHAIR WITH SELF-FOLDING SEAT Alfred C. Hoven and Walter E. Nordmark, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 23, 1952, Serial No. 267,776

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-86) The present invention relates to chair structures and more particularly to chairs of the type which are installed in rows in theaters, auditoriums and the like. This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, Serial No. 46,742, filed August 30, 1948, now abandoned.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide theater chairs in which the seats automatically tilt upwardly when unoccupied, thus to increase the space between rows and facilitate the ingress and egress of patrons passing between the rows, and also to facilitate sweeping under the chairs; to provide a novel mechanism for effecting such automatic upward tilt of each seat, said mechanism being of extreme simplicity and thus economical in manufacture and maintenance, and said mechanism being noiseless and efiicient in operation, and concealed from view.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a theater chair supported between two standards which also serve as supports for one side each of adjacent chairs, here shown fragmentarily;

Figure 2 is a view of the chair shown partly in side elevation and partly in section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of parts thereof taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top perspective view of a seat foundation or pan element mounted between spaced supporting standards shown fragmentarily, the upholstered seat cushion element having been removed to reveal the interior of the pan element;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the pivotal mountings and adjacent parts at one side--the right hand side as here shown-of the seat, shown partly in top plan and partly in horizontal section taken on line 5--5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a similar view of the pivotal mountings and adjacent parts at the other side of the seat;

Figure 7 is a view of certain parts thereof shown partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view similar to Figure 4 but illustrating the invention in a modified form;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view of parts thereof, taken on line 9-9 of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Figure 9, showing a still further modified form of the invention.

Referring now in detail to these drawings wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals in the several views, the theater chairs shown in Figures 1 and 2 are mounted on spaced, upright, chair-supporting standards 10 and comprise chair backs 11 secured at their opposite sides to the standards by means of back clips 12, and chair seats 13 mounted on and between each pair of standards. Each chair seat 13 comprises an upper upholstered seat cushion element 14 detachably mounted on a lower, dish shaped, sheet metal seat pan element 15, the latter element being pivotally connected at its opposite sides to the supporting standards 10 respectively by means hereinafter more fully described, so that the entire seat 13 is swingable about a horizontal axis to a lowered position for seat occupancy and to a raised position between the supporting standards for the chair.

The pivotal mountings for the seat comprise mount- 2,705,526 Patented Apr. 5, 1955 ing members 16 and 17 at the right hand side and left hand side respectively of the chair, said members 16 and 17 each being secured to an adjacent standard 10 by means of a bolt 18 passing upwardly through aligned openings in a web 19 of the standard and in the horizontal flanges 20, 21 of the adjacent mounting members for adjacent chairs. (See Figure 3.) Retaining nuts 22 are threaded 0n the upper ends of the bolts 18 for securing these parts in assembly.

The mounting members 16 and 17 have vertical portions from which project mutually inwardly extending trunnions 23, 24 respectively (see Figures 5 and 6), and the seats pan element 15 has reinforcing side plates 25 provided with bearings 26 therein by means of which said pan member is journalled on the trunnions 23, 24 so that the seat is swingable about a horizontal axis. Stops 27 formed in the side plates 25 are adapted to contact inwardly projecting pins 28 on the mounting members 16 to limit the upward tilting movement of the seat, and similar stops 29 formed in the side plates 25 are adapted to contact the pins 28 for supporting the seat in its lowered position for occupancy. A star washer or clip 30 is pressed on the reduced inner end of the trunnion 24 for preventing undesirable lateral movement of the seat on the trunnions.

It is desirable for reasons hereinbefore mentioned that the seats when unoccupied shall automatically assume the raised position of non-use indicated by the full-line showing of the seat in Figure 2. Such automatic upward tilting of the seat has in the past been effected by various means of a somewhat complicated nature when contrasted with the present invention. In practicing our invention, we provide the trunnion 23 with a bifurcated inner end and a pin 31 connecting the prongs 32 of the bifurcation. At the opposite side of the seat is mounted a bracket 33 the opposite ends of which are secured as by welding to the inner wall of the seats pan element 15, and the inner portion of which bracket 33 straddles the inner end of the trunnion 24. A torque spring 34 comprises a single length of spring wire having a substantially straight middle portion extending from side to side within the seats pan element 15, and has one end 35 thereof bent and hooked over the pin 31 and between the prongs 32 of the bifurcated trunnion 23, while the other end 36 of this torque spring 34 is bent right angularly to engage beneath a flange 37 on the bracket 33. The bracket 33 is also filanged to form a seat 38 for the curved portion 39 of this end of the wire torque spring 34.

It will readily be seen that one end of the torque spring is thus non-turnably connected to the supporting standard 10 at one side of the chair, through the trunnion 23 and its mounting member, while the other end of the torque spring is connected to the seats pan element at the opposite side of the chair and is thus turnable with the seat. By reason of the length of the torque spring, it is capable of repeated tensioning during the lowering movement of the seat to its position of occupancy shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 and in full lines in Figures 3-7 inclusive, which tensioning of the torque spring effects automatic upward tilting of the seat when unoccupied to its raised position shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 2 and in broken lines in Figure 3.

If desired, the seat may be provided. with an automatic three-quarter fold, i. e. the unoccupied seat would normally assume an upwardly tilted position about three-quarters of the way between its extreme lowered position and its extreme raised position. This may be accomplished by bending the ends of the torque spring in such a manner that there is no torsion on the spring in either direction when the seat is in a three-quarter folded position. The spring would thus be placed under torsion in one direction to urge the seat downwardly from its extreme raised position, and placed under torsion in the opposite direction to urge the seat upwardly from its extreme lowered position.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 8 and 9, the trunnion 23 is formed as an integral part of the mounting member 16 and there is also an integrally formed stop lug on the outer side of the mounting member 16 A bore 101 extends completely through the vertical portion of the mounting member 16 axially of its trunnion portion 23 The end 36, of the torque spring 34 is secured to the seats pan element 15 by means of a bracket 33 in the same manner as previously described, whereas the opposite end 35 of the torque spring 34 is passed through the bore 101 of the mounting member 16 and has its outer end bent so as to engage behind the stop lug 100 on the outer side of this mounting member, with the spring under torsion at all times. It will be seen that the end 35 is thus connected non-turnably to the mounting member 16 and the seat will always be returned to its upright, non-use position when vacated.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figure the trunnion 23 instead of being secured to or a part of the mounting member 16 as previously described, is here shown secured to the seats pan element This trunnion 23 has a cylindrical outer portion 201 journalled in a bearing 202 in the mounting member 16 a c0llar203 extending between the mounting member 16 and the bracket on the seat pan 15 a reduced portion 204 extending through openings in the bracket 25 and the seat pan 15 and a head portion 205 which is spun over to secure the trunnion 23 to the seat pan 15 The end of the torque spring 34 extends through an axial bore 206 in the trunnion 23 and its outer extremity is bent so as to engage behind a stop lug 207 on the outer side of the mounting member 16 The operation is the same as that previously described and, if desired, the opposite side of the seat may also be provided with a trunnion journalled in a bearing in the opposite mounting member.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides an effective and extremely simple means for automatically upwardly tilting the seats of theatre chairs; and while but several specific embodiments of the invention have been herein shown and described, it will be understood that the invention includes all such modifications thereof as fall within the scope of the following claims We claim:

1. A chair structure comprising, in combination: spaced upright chair supporting standards; mounting members on said standards respectively and having mu: tually inwardly extending trunnions, one of said mounting members having a bore therethrough disposed axially of its trunnion; a chair seat comprising an upholstered element mounted upon a dish shaped seat pan-element journalled at its opposite sides on said trunnions respectively for swinging movement to a lowered, substantially horizontal position for seat occupancy and to an upwardy tilted position between the standards; and a torque spring comprising a substantially straight wire extending through the interior of said pan element and having one end thereof extended through the bore in said one mounting member and non-turnably engaged therewith, and the other end thereof connected to the pan element turnably therewith adjacent the other of said mounting members, whereby the seat is normally urged to an upwardly tilted position.

2.1A chair structure comprising, in combination:

4 spaced upright chair supporting standards; mounting members on said standards respectively; a chair seat cornprising an upholstered element mounted upon a dish shaped seat pan element journalled at its opposite sides on said mounting members respectively for swinging movement to a lowered, substantially horizontal position for seat occupancy and to an upwardly tilted posi tion between the standards, the journal connectionat one side of the seat plan element comprising a bearing in the adjacent mounting member and a trunnion on said pan element extending through said bearing and having an axial bore therethrough; and a torque spring comprising a substantially straight wire extending through the interior of said pan element and having one end thereof extended through the bore in said trunnion and non-turnably engaged with the adjacent mounting member, and the other end thereof connected to the pan element turnably adjacent the other of said mounting members, whereby the seat is normally urged to an upwardly tilted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland Oct. 16, 1947 

